Mass Effect 2

Just finished another great game made by Bioware: Mass Effect 2.

And it is, again a good game. Not a GREAT game, but a good game. A game with it's high's but also with severe lows, which result in a great experience if you forget the lows.

The story continues where Mass Effect 1 finished (SPOILER!): Captain Shepard, in his/her hunt for the  Reapers, an ancient race of sentient machines who sistematically brought other space faring civilizations to their end, is attacked and dies. But Cerberus, the other arm of humanity on Space, brings him back to accomplish a mission: discover why the human colonies are beeing abducted and by whom.

So let me start with the lows. Like the previous game, Mass Effect 2 relies on some mini games to hunt for resources to upgrade your weaponry. But this time, that hunt is a boring minigame of move-mouse-click which gets boring and enervating at some point. At least on Mass Effect 1 you had some beautiful conceptions of the Universe while traveling with a tank-like car.

Also, another negative point is the side questing on space. While the ones you have to do for you allies and the ones encountered while questing are well designed, quests done on space have the same problem as seen on Mass Effect 1: many of them are short and much of the time pointless.

But let's end up with the High Pro's of the game, what makes it good: the story. While going through the main quest, you are certain of find a lot of fun and challenges. That includes both the missions you (can) do for your teammates and the Main Story, which again brilliantly gives some impressive artwork from Bioware about the space.

My favorite is at the end, the conception of a Quasar... for one like myself who wonders the wonders of this Cosmos we live in, even if beeing just an artwork is enough to make me smile.

Stillness of Mind

Fortunately, it finally came to my senses that I need that in order to work and concentrate. I have a condition that , I think, makes my mind spin around too fast for me or anyone else to grab, thus requiring pill assistance in order to achieve that.

But that doesn't mean I'll stop this project. I think I've made some discoveries that probably should be shared among people. The problem is that people often want only pre-made answers, and they do not question themselves the same questions I made.

I might be wrong. Of course, if you think you are always the one right obviously you're wrong. Only the fools are always full of themselves.

But I'll still be taking the White Pill.

Baldur's Gate II

Today, I'll talk about another great game that is on many people's list of Best of All times: Baldur's Gate 2.

The funny thing ... is that Baldur's Gate 2 is the sequel to a game I've never even played, guess what, Baldur's Gate. But the first game never stood a chance against what the second one did for a multitude of factors the second have against the first.

Using the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons system, you create a 7th lvl character, who is promptly thrown out on a cage and tortured by an unnamed villain... luckily, you half sister Imoen manages to escape that little horror prison and releases you once he gets distracted and stops "playing" with you.

What part of "half" does your sister have in common with you? You both have the same father... Bhaal, the God of Murder, who perished long ago during an ancient time known as The Times of Trouble, where gods who forsakken the faith put on them had to walk on the earth, beeing mortal as their brethen.

Bhaal, however, devised a plan to come back - and that plan includes you. And his infinite spawn who are now walking Toril, the world you live in.

But that is not what you'll encounter in this game. In this game, your objectives are simple: save your sister, who ends up getting caught by that Misterious Man when you 2 were both on your way to escape.

And then the real adventure starts: to get to your sister, you will have to gather allies. Become stronger, accquire items of wondrous power, face great challenges. And then comes what I'd call the funnier parts of this game: choosing and interacting with your group members.

You can choose from a chaotic and hungry for destruction dwarf to a lawful do-gooder human paladin. And have both on the party and see how they bicker themselves, stopping just to watch the chaos - and laugh upon it. And when they ask for your help, you can do so... destroying their lives or saving them from their unwise decisions.

Which doesn't mean the rest of the game isn't up to the ensuing chaos you can bring to your party just for fun - you will travel across the city of Amn, visit other minor cities spread on their coast, and even travel on the Underdark, a vast and mysterious territory filled with dark creatures and secrets.

And the quest to free your sister ends up to unveil an even dark secret, the dark secrets one who has the taint of the God of Murder holds, and the ones held by your enemies who captured you and her.

The game has a huge replayability because of the ammount of possibilities you have to make up your party and do the quests. Will you choose to become a do-gooder, or feed the dark powers that lie hidden inside you? What happens if you feed the divine spark inside you, even if that spark is from a God of Murder? All a matter of choice...

I must have finished this game what, 5 times? And each time it was unique and different from before. An instant classic for those who like big adventures seconded only by big stories.

Speaking of which, it's been quite a while since I last played it...

Nightwatch

Here, I'll speak a little of all the books that made my life wonderful.

Because life is wonderful. A miracle. A gift from God himself. And nothing better to honor that miracle by speaking about the author who mastered the art of God's sense of humor: Terry Pratchett.

If you don't know who he is, I suggest you stop everything you're doing and go buy one, if not all, of his books. Pratchett's not only a FUNNY writer, he's a philosopher. Using his Natural Gift, he created the Discoworld and uses it to implicitly criticize EVERYTHING in this world.

And we'll laugh at it.

So I'll start this column by speaking about one of his better creations: Nightwatch. In this novel, you'll meet Samuel Vimes, a "good" cop who, while in the pursuit of murderer, somehow is transported back in time along with him... back to the days when HE himself was joining the cops.

The book is a brilliant exercise of self-instrospection: What you would do if you managed to get back in time with all the experience you've acumulated along with the years?

For Vimes, the answer is obvious: he teaches himself EVERYTHINg he knows to his young self. Hahaha, brilliant. Of course, he had a help from some monks at the beginning and at the end, but whatever, that's not the point.

There are so many epic passages on that book, and so many lines that could become The Line for any of you people reading this, that I will leave to your curiosity to do the rest.

I will finish this quick column by (one of) the moments of it that I remember fondly: When Old Vimes asks for volunteers for a suicidal mission, the Young Vimes steps in quickly, and Old Vimes thinks in a depressing way "Damn you, silly!".

Planescape: Torment

So today I'll talk about one of my favorite games of all time:

Planescape: Torment.

That game has been released for more than a decade, but few have managed to grasp its complexity and beauty. Those who managed, however, were rewarded with an unique experience that can be resumed in a turmoil of questions:

Who am I? What am I doing here? Why can't I die? Why I forget everything when I die? What are these scars that mark my body? Why? Why?! WHY???

What. Is. My. Name. What is my Name? Why I'm the Nameless One?

This game is a masterpiece of storytelling. I only have played it once in my entire life, and I'll never play it again. Never. Why? Some things just can't be repeated. Some experiences are never repeated. Like that unforgettable kiss with a girl on a bus stop, some things happen only to become a wonderful rememberance.

On this game, you do not bend your enemies by beeing stronger or more agile. The best way to experience this game is by beeing Wiser. By beeing Smart. Beeing Smart enables you to unlock some unique dialogs along the game. Dialogues that then reveal unique plot twists and consequences. And, if you are Wise, you'll learn from those experiences faster than anyone else. You may start with lower strenght and reflexes because of those tremendous scars your characters have, but why would you bother if you have the strength of your experiences and intelligence?

Speaking of Scars, you, playing the Nameless One, rapidly realize that you body is in fact the living definition of them: to help the future lives, since you forget everything when you die, you body is tatooed EVERYWHERE by glimpses of wisdom your past lives accquired. By learning what they mean, you, once you meet a special tatooer, can then draw on their power to use against those who will try to halt you from completing your quest:

To discover who you are. Why you're suffering. Why you forget everything when you die. Why you cannot "die" in the literal sense.

You aren't alone on that quest, however. You will meet people. Certain individuals whose lives will forever be changed because of you, in ways you'll never comprehend - and sometimes wish you never had done that.

A funny living cranium. Your first ally. The one that makes you laugh at everything. Life, death, law, chaos, good, evil. The one that also has a dark secret and questions what he did on his past life but, you know, some things are better to be left untold. Time will reveal the mistery and then you 2 must deal with it.

A tiefling. A thing born from the evil of a demon and a man. Created by a bad father, an evil, manipulative man, she had everything to become another creature of darkness. But she didn't. She became a free spirit. And she conquered it by herself. With your invisible help.

A githzerai. A creature that lives in the churning chaos, the Elemental Chaos, he is sworn to accompany you across the planes themselves and help you until death. He has a sword, a sword he can manipulate using his own will, and the stronger his will becomes, deadlier he will be agaisnt your foes. But you have to help him find his inner peace to truly unlock all that hidden power inside him.

A man. A burning man. A man so obsessed with fire and destruction that he had to be ended. But he did not. He lived still suffering from the pain, and loved every second of it. Until you released him... and releases him.

A succubi. An evil creature that lives to tempt men and delight on their doom. But she is not evil. She doesn't have the wings of a succubi. She is beautiful. Owner of the one place on the multiverse that strives to make men sense all the beauty it has to offer. She is locked and keeps a diary, so it means you'll never ever discover all her secrets. Will you? I didn't. Did you?

A living armor of destructive power. For he is justice. Justice's sword. Unmerciful. Unemotive. Unreasonable. It is up to you to either destroy him by showing his flawed logic or use him, directing his power by your own desire.

Together, you will travel across Sigil, The City of Doors. Where a single word or step taken can lead you to another place totally different and distant from where you are. You will meet people driven insane by that. You will meet factions of people who have yet so different views, sometimes hating each other because of that, but you'll have in fact to join all of them to accomplish you goal.

And answer the question. The question the person who "cursed" you with your condition asks.

I know my answer. I think my answer is right. Do you have a better answer than I?

Hello Everyone!

I will start out this Blog, this personal experience of mine, by saying what do I intend to achieve with this.

I want to express myself. Simple, ain’t it? But for one who took so long to synchronize his Voice with his Thoughts, that phrase means a lot to me.

I’m Brazilian. I love soccer. I love women, even thought I still haven’t managed to get intimate with one. I got closer to that one time, but … something happenned. To both os us. But that is another story, for maybe another time.

As you may have noticed, I’m Brazilian but I’m speaking in English. I do this for 2 obvious reasons: Because I LOVE speaking in english and 2) To make my word noticeable for everyone.

This is it for now. Have fun! I hope you enjoy the trip!